Over at Gotham Baseball, Howard Megdal gives us seventeen wishes for the upcoming Mets' and Yankees' seasons. Megdal, a Mets' fan, can't help but let his true loyalties bleed through despite writing about both New York clubs:
Yankees:Apparently, former Mets' third base coach and current Nationals' manager Manny Acta is making saber hearts swoon (via Federal Baseball):17. For a Subway Series.
Mets:
17. For a Subway Series victory.
I'm not going to do something as dumb as basing major decisions on five at-bat samples.I love him.[...]
A guy is more likely to score from first with no one out than from second with one out, so if you ask me to bunt early in games, I'm going to beat your face in.
[...]
Lots of unnecessary caught stealings are bad; I'm not going to slit my wrists, strategically speaking, just so some morons will appreciate my aggressiveness.
According to Chris Constancio at The Hardball Times, David Wright is one of the best young third basemen in baseball (duh!):
While some see Wright developing into an elite power threat, his most recent performance raises doubts about that. His HR/Flyball ratio dropped to average levels as he suffered through three- and four-week homerless stretches during the second half of the 2006 season. Whether or not Wright can hit 35 or more home runs in a season does not detract from his outstanding knowledge of the strike zone and solid play at third base. He likely will be one of baseball's best all-around third basemen for years.And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Chris McCown's first article over at MetsGeek, in which he revisits the famed (and failed) trade that brought would-be hall of famer Roberto Alomar to Queens. Chris looks at all of the principals involved in the trade as well as some folks you might not even remember were involved.